Rosario Weiss Zorrilla
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Maria del Rosario Weiss Zorrilla (2 October 1814 – 31 July 1843) was a
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
and engraver best known for portraits. She was the
goddaughter Within Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child's baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In both religious and civil views, ...
of
Francisco de Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, a ...
and lived with him during his final years when her mother was his maid. Over seventy of her drawings, preserved at the
Hispanic Society of America The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term. The term commonly appl ...
, were once attributed to Goya but, in 1956, the art historian demonstrated conclusively that they were hers.Natacha Seseña, ''Goya y las mujeres'', Taurus, 2005 .


Biography

She was born in Madrid, the daughter of
Leocadia Zorrilla Leocadia Zorrilla, married name Leocadia Weiss (9 December 1788, Madrid – 7 August 1856, Madrid), was the old-age companion of Spanish painter Francisco Goya, and mother of the artist Rosario Weiss Zorrilla. Life Leocadia was orphaned at an ...
and, according to baptismal documents, her husband of seven years, Isidore Weiss, a German-Jewish jeweler whose family lived in Madrid. However, in 1811, Weiss had sworn out a legal complaint accusing Leocadia of "illicit conduct". This, together with the fact that she went to live with Goya in 1817 (as his housekeeper, officially) fueled speculation that Rosario was Goya's child; or certainly not Weiss' in any event. Goya began giving her drawing lessons, together with her first writing lessons, when she was only seven. She studied with him until age fifteen and then with architect Tiburcio Pérez from 1823 to 1824. Later, when he was living in self-exile in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, she was the student of a local wallpaper designer. At one point, he proposed sending her to Paris. This did not work out, so, in 1827, she was placed under the tutelage of
Pierre Lacour Pierre Lacour, originally Delacour (15 April 1745 – 28 January 1814) was a French painter. Biography His first artistic studies were in the workshop of the engraver, André Lavau (1722-1808). In 1764, he went to Paris to continue his studies ...
; son of the better-known
Pierre Lacour Pierre Lacour, originally Delacour (15 April 1745 – 28 January 1814) was a French painter. Biography His first artistic studies were in the workshop of the engraver, André Lavau (1722-1808). In 1764, he went to Paris to continue his studies ...
.Brief biography
@ the Museo Lázaro Galdiano.
After Goya's death in 1828, Leocadia's relationship with his family became strained (she had been left out of Goya's will and felt that Javier had treated her poorly) so, as soon as possible, she and Rosario returned to Spain. That was in 1833, following an amnesty for those who had opposed King
Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...
. Once there, Rosario helped support her family by making copies of the
Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
s at the
Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...
. She continued her work as a copyist at the
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...
and in various private collections. She also participated in exhibitions there and at the Liceo Artístico y Literario. In 1840, the Academia named her an "Academician of Merit". That same year, she obtained an appointment as drawing tutor to Princesses
Isabel Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th c ...
and
Luisa Fernanda Luisa Fernanda is a former television entertainment news anchor, radio broadcaster, theatre and soap actress, singer and model. She was born on December 17th, 1970 in Mexico City. She worked for HSE in 2001 then Telemundo until the end of 2007. ...
, receiving a salary of 8,000 reales. This position was apparently obtained by liberal friends of her brother, Guillermo, who knew
Agustín Argüelles Agustín Argüelles (18 August 1776 in Ribadesella, Asturias – 26 March 1844 in Madrid) was a Spanish liberal politician. He served as the 81st and 94th president of the Congress of Deputies. Biography He studied Law at the University ...
, Isabel's legal guardian. Zorilla also did work as an illustrator. She illustrated ''Isla de Cuba pintoresca'' by Manuela de Andueza. According to a report by the royal doctor, her sudden death at the age of twenty-nine seems to have been precipitated by a severe emotional shock she suffered upon encountering a violent demonstration while leaving the
Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania {, class="wikitable" width="95%" , - bgcolor="white" !align=center, Residence !align=center, Photo !align=center, City !align=cen ...
, the day after the fall of the Espartero régime; what might now be called an
acute stress reaction Acute stress reaction (ASR), also known as psychological shock, mental shock, or simply shock, as well as acute stress disorder (ASD), is a psychological response to a terrifying, Psychological trauma, traumatic, or surprising experience. The r ...
. However, an obituary in the ''
Gaceta de Madrid La Gaceta may refer to * ''La Gaceta'' (Honduras), the official journal of the Republic of Honduras. * ''La Gaceta'' (Tampa), a trilingual newspaper in Tampa, Florida, United States * ''La Gaceta'' (Tucumán), a newspaper in San Miguel de Tucum ...
'' from later that year, written by a friend of her brother, indicates that she died from an intestinal infection (probably
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
).


Works in collections

Various institutions in Madrid hold works by Rosario Weiss Zorrilla in their collections. Paintings, drawings and
lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...
are preserved in the
National Library of Spain National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
, the library of the
Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...
, the
Lázaro Galdiano Museum The Lázaro Galdiano Museum () is an art museum in Madrid, Spain. It houses the art collection of José Lázaro Galdiano. The museum was inaugurated on 27 January 1951. History The palatial building was constructed in 1903 as the residence of ...
, the Royal Academy of San Fernando, the Museum of Romanticism. In 2014, the Prado Museum acquired one of her drawings and her copy of a larger original painting by Rafael Tegeo Díaz of the Duke and Duchess of San Fernando de Quiroga.


References


Further reading

* Manuel Álvarez Lopera, ''Rosario Weiss. Vida y obra'', Fundación Lázaro Galdiano, 2003 * Jaime Esaín Escobar, ''Rosario Weiss, Ahijada de Goya'', Mira Editorial, 2008 * Carlos Sanchez Diez, ''Dibujos de Rosario Weiss, Cataloguo Razonado, CEEH, 2018


External links


Lecture in Spanish about life and work of Rosario Weiss Zorilla by Carlos Sánchez, Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid
on
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss Zorilla,Rosario 1814 births 1843 deaths 19th-century Spanish painters Spanish women painters 19th-century Spanish engravers Spanish portrait painters Artists from Madrid Deaths from cholera Spanish women engravers